


Handy Man

by cowboykylux



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Boat Sex, F/M, Kissing, Oral Sex, Set in the Swamps, Shameless Smut, Smut, Strangers to Lovers, mechanic ben
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-20
Updated: 2018-12-19
Packaged: 2019-09-23 07:04:32
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,889
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17075642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cowboykylux/pseuds/cowboykylux
Summary: Solo Garage and Market was a small haven for folks living on the water -- and when you need help, it's the first place you go. Luckily for you, you get more than a cleaned steering cable when you meet the handsome owner, Ben.





	1. Chapter 1

Life in the swamps was hard, no doubt about it. Ben Solo knew he lived in a completely different world out in the wild, where lots of folks lived on houseboats without any other companion besides a dog or two. Often times he would take his airboat out onto the open waters, sit underneath the clear blue sky, and contemplate life. He couldn’t imagine doing that every day, but some people here did it, and had been doing it for years.

Most everyone who had chosen to live on the water like this was content to being alone. And good thing too – the swamps had many things, but civilization wasn’t one of ‘em. No neighbors to talk to, no jobs to report no, no stores easily accessible for essentials like food and water. That was, except of course, for Ben’s store.

Solo Garage and Market was a small haven for folks living on the water; it held just about everything one might need to survive out there – whether that be or a week or ten years. His pop opened it up back in ’77, and taught Ben all about how to fix up engines and the like. Now that his pop was gone, well, someone had to run the place. It was small, and it was a little rough around the edges from being right on a dock protruding out from muddy land, but it was home. Besides, he liked taking care of the place, liked being able to help folks when they needed it.

You looked like you desperately needed it, he thought when he saw you paddling your houseboat over to him. Ben had just finished cleaning out the garage and was enjoying a nice, cold beer out front when you more or less lassoed your docking rope to one of the posts supporting the shop.

“Is this the Solo Garage and Market?” You asked, clearly frustrated and out of breath.

“Yes ma’am, I’m Ben.” He said, immediately forgoing his beer to help you up onto the dock from your boat. The step was a big one, and you were a little unsteady on your feet, so he held out his hands and let you use him as leverage for the big gap. “What’s the matter, are you hurt?”

You looked like you had been nearly drowned, you were soaking wet and there were leaves in your hair, like you had gotten in a tangle with some low hanging branches. Ben eyed the water skeptically, it wasn’t safe to go swimming around in parts of it, what with the alligators and the cottonmouths and all. Ben might not have been the smartest tool in the shed, but he was perceptive enough to know that your dip hadn’t been voluntary.

“I’m (Y/N), and I’m okay, thank you, but my boat isn’t. I think there’s something the matter with the motor.” You sighed. You had paddled for what felt like an eternity, hoping that your compass was correct and that you were indeed going towards the one place that could give you any sort of help.

Ben nodded at your words and gently ushered you towards the small building. It certainly looked like it had seen better days, but then again, everything did out here. Ben held the door open for you and made sure to shut the screen behind you so the mosquitoes wouldn’t come in.

“Here, this should help you dry off, you can tell me everything once you’re warm.” He said with a friendly smile, handing you a towel. “Can I get you anything to drink? Water, beer, cola?”

“I’ll take a cola please. I’ve had enough water for one day.” You laughed, and Ben laughed with you, the two of you trying to not make things awkward.

“Yeah you look like you took a tumble.” Ben remarked, and you cringed – so much for first impressions.

“That’s putting it lightly,” You said, rubbing the towel over your hair to get it to stop dripping. It turned into a stringy mess, but it was better than being sopping wet. Nothing like a head full of swamp water to really ruin your mood, you thought.

“I was cruising down the path when my steering stopped working, I’d just gotten to that spot along the bend where I needed to turn, but she just kept going forward and we hit the bank. I didn’t think I was going fast enough for the impact to throw me over the side but – ” You gestured to the state of your clothing, now making a big puddle in the middle of Ben’s small shop, “Here I am.”

“The steering just stopped working?” Ben asked, frowning. He couldn’t care less about the water, he would just mop it up after he got you sorted. But a boat with no steering was just asking for trouble, especially with all the unseen shallow roots and downed trees that dotted the swamps.

“Yeah, the helm sort of locked up, if that makes sense. I couldn’t turn the wheel one way or the other.” You gestured, turning an imaginary helm with pretend resistance.  

Ben grinned, the years of his pop teaching him how to fix a boat all which ways coming back to him. If he were right – and he always was – it wasn’t nearly as bad of a problem as you were under the impression it was.

“I think you’ve just got a damaged cable on your hands, but I’ll need to take a look at it to see if that’s the problem.” He said, scratching his chin.

“If it is the cable, do I have to get a new one?” You asked, almost like you were afraid of his answer.

“Naw, I should just be able to just remove it and clean it up. You never know what sort of gunk can get in there out here.” Ben said, and there was something in the way that you smiled that made his chest do little flips.

Without any more discussion, Ben grabbed his big toolkit and left the garage, you following close behind. He hopped down from the dock to your boat, and held his hand out for you again to lean on him as you did the same.

Your boat was charming, Ben thought. It was just the one room and a small bathroom, nothing fancy, but it felt homey. The entire interior was wood paneling, the kind of wood that feels warm and cozy, but there was a soft woven rug in the middle of the floor, partially tucked underneath a twin sized bed that had rumpled navy blue sheets.

You were proud of your little home, and had no problem showing Ben the inside of it. You kept it well organized, such a small space had a tendency to get unruly pretty fast, and you liked your decorations. On the walls you had used adhesive strips to hang framed photos of your friends and family, as well as framed prints of art you liked. 

You had a small loveseat sofa pressed against one of the walls, underneath a window fitted with white lace curtains, and a small television on a wooden table opposite it. The table was crowded with nick-knacks that you had picked up along your many travels, but aside from that, the surfaces were kept bare.

The steering wheel was at the front of the boat, and Ben got to work right away. You couldn’t really see what he was doing, but you heard a lot of clanging, and finally a triumphant cheer from Ben.

“Yup, that’s all that it is, see? The outer casing of the cable is cracked, that means it’s probably just the cable needing some maintenance.” He said, waving you over so that you could look for yourself.

“I’m so happy! I don’t know if I’d be able to afford it if it were anything more complicated than that.” You felt relief wash through your mind, but Ben shook his head with conviction.  

“Don’t you worry about cost.” He said, wiping his greasy hands on his jeans.

“No way, you’ve got to let me pay you.” You objected. Ben was kind, but you were not about to take advantage of that kindness! You had a small box of cash stored away for moments like this, to be used in case of emergencies.

“For something as simple as this? Hell no.” Ben said, stubborn as ever. “I’m going to remove the cable and take it back to the garage to see it better. You’re more than welcome to join me.”

He wanted you to say yes so badly, his hand wouldn’t stop fidgeting with his wrench. You smiled and nodded, and Ben could have sworn he saw fireworks go off behind his eyes.

“I’ll be there in a minute, I’d really like to change out of these clothes if you don’t mind.” You chuckled, realizing you were still wearing gross swampy clothes.

Ben had entirely forgotten about that, and his face burned in mild embarrassment. He had been so preoccupied with how beautiful you were, he didn’t notice how you shivered from being stuck in a pair of wet jeans.

“Shit, yeah! Of course, I’m sorry I made you wait this long.” Ben said rubbing the back of his neck, inevitably making him even more dirty than he had been before your arrival.

“Don’t apologize for anything, you’re my hero.” You smiled, finding his mannerisms really charming. It wasn’t every day that you met a handsome, hardworking, kind man like this, and you wanted to get to know him better. You just didn’t want to do it while looking like some sort of river rat.

“I don’t know about all that,” Ben blushed, and you found yourself smiling along with him. “It’ll only take a minute for me to undo this cable, but then I’ll go to the garage. Feel free to grab somethin’ from the cooler in the market if you’d like, I’ve got all sorts of fresh fruits to snack on.” Ben said as he turned his attention back to the task at hand.

“You’re kind, thank you.” You said meaning every word, causing Ben to pause. No one had ever been this grateful for his help, and he was about to say as much when you started to strip down to your underwear.

Ben didn’t dare turn back around, especially not when he heard the rustling of you stepping out of your clothing. He blushed all the way to the tips of his ears, you weren’t even going to wait for him to leave before changing? He was like a deer in fog lights, his hearing hyper focused to the wet slap of your outfit hitting what he could only assume was a plastic hamper.

“I’m going to go on inside the garage now,” Ben said, trying his best not to stammer. “You come on in when you’re ready.”

He tried to be a gentleman and avoid his gaze as he turned towards the exit, but in his peripheral he couldn’t help but catch a glance of your skin glowing in the light coming in through the window. He blinked and held a tighter grip on his toolkit so that he wouldn’t accidentally drop it and get caught out, but you didn’t seem to notice.

It wasn’t until after you had felt the rocking of the boat from Ben stepping back onto the dock did you let yourself grin. You liked Ben, or at least, you knew that you would once you got to know him better, and you were positive he was interested in you back. You felt a little guilty for teasing him like that, but you hoped that it would give Ben the hint that you didn’t want to just disappear back into the swamps when this was finished.

After feeling like a new person now that you were in clean, dry, and comfortable clothes, you decided to simply wrap your hair up so it was out of your face and off of your neck, and padded barefoot back into the garage where Ben was studiously going about cleaning the cable.

You didn’t know what it exactly entailed, but there were a ton of tools strewn about on his workbench, and he was practically covered in grease.

“You really must let me pay you something, I’ve even got cash.” You said exasperatedly, feeling guilty once again.

Ben just gave you a cocky smirk and shook his head, tousling the hair that had gotten into his eyes from his concentration. He looked up at you to reply, but found whatever snarky comment that was about to spring forth had evaporated. You looked so cozy, so homey, just like the interior of your boat. Ben suddenly had a mental image of the two of you being sweet and domestic together, and he had to look away again, afraid that you might see his thoughts. 

“I won’t take your cash, I’ve already told you.” Ben said with a hint of mischief. “But…there might be one thing.” He smiled, and let the Solo charm give him the confidence he needed to not sound like an idiot and scare you away, because that was the last thing he wanted.

“Oh yeah? What’s that?” You asked, an eyebrow raised.

Ben stepped away from the workbench and the cable, and with his greasy hands he pushed up the sleeves of his shirt, trying to appear as suave as possible when in reality his heart was pounding in his chest.

“A voluntary donation. One kiss.” He said, and you had to rein your grin in.

“I think I can manage that.” You nodded, stepping up to him.

You hesitated for only a moment, before you pressed a chaste kiss to his lips that made Ben feel like he was a teenager again. Something about you made him weak in the knees, he wanted to spend more time with you, wanted to get to know you better. He didn’t want you to be like the regulars who only come by once a month for bait and tackle, although he’d be happier to see you once a month than to never see you again. You tasted like cherry chapstick, but Ben decided in that moment that it was his new favorite flavor, purely because it belonged to you.

You stepped away from him after a moment or two, and ducked your head down so he wouldn’t see the look on your face.

“If you can fix it before dinnertime, I’ll give you another one.” You winked, before leaving the garage to wander about the shop.

You couldn’t see it, but Ben had never worked as quickly and efficiently in his whole life, as he did cleaning that little cable, spurred on by the challenge and the promise of more kisses from your sweet lips.


	2. Chapter 2

Ben worked well with such an enticing incentive like the one you gave him. He was eager not only to get more kisses from your soft lips, but he wanted to prove to you that you had taken your home to the right mechanic; maybe in the future you’d bring it back to him again. There was something about the way you hung around the store, sitting on counter tops like you belonged there, organizing the shelves while you waited, that made Ben want to keep you around. So, when he couldn’t drag the cable repair out a minute longer, he began to inspect every inch of the boat, hoping to find something small that he could fix for you.

He was pleasantly surprised to see that you took really good care of the old houseboat, and Ben found he had a deeper appreciation for you. You clearly knew what you were doing, and he respected that. It was, however, bittersweet – his time with you was spent.

“Finished already?” You asked, from your spot in the garage.

There had been few places to hang out that weren’t completely covered in tools or dust, so you had stuck to sitting on the work table, idly twirling a wrench, your eyes wandering up the walls and taking in all the old and faded signs and posters that Ben had collected over the years.

“Yup, want to come take a look yourself?” Ben asked, grabbing a clean rag from the work table, wiping his hands completely down. There seemed to be an absurd amount of grease on him everywhere else, but for all you knew, he could have been fixing an engine or something before you showed up.

Either way, Ben looked proud, and you wanted to be close to him, so you held out a hand and he gave you a big toothy smile that made your breath catch in the back of your throat.

“I’d like that, please.” You said, and you smiled back when his slightly sticky hand enveloped yours.

The two of you didn’t separate, Ben used his hold on your hand to help you down onto the deck of the boat, and even held the door open for you like a proper gentleman. He did let you go only to show you how nice everything looked now that the cable was clean and free of swamp muck.

“See? Turning just fine now. If it ever gets stuck like that again, I can show you how to fix it if you’d like. It’s really not too hard.” Ben said, a little blush creeping onto his dimpled cheeks.

“No that’s okay.” You said shaking your head.

“Really?” Ben frowned – he thought you would have loved to know how to do something so easy, especially since you take care of your boat so well.

“How would I see you again, if you taught me the secrets of the trade?” You grinned, stepping a little closer to him, placing one of your hands against his chest.  

“That’s true.” Ben nodded, playfully solemn as he looked back up at you, and said in the most serious voice he could muster, “I’d have to kill you.”

You both laughed at the idea, and you couldn’t keep the giggles away, even as the two of you walked back onto the dock. You itched to take his hand in yours again, to feel the warmth of those calloused palms, but you didn’t want to overstep any boundaries. Instead, the two of you sat down on the dock, letting your legs dangle gently above the waterline.

You watched the old house boat rock slightly with the breeze, and leaned your head against Ben’s muscular shoulder.  

“I can’t thank you enough. This boat has been running longer than I’ve been alive, she’s gone through a lot but I try and keep her as maintained as possible.” You said, feeling completely at ease with this practical stranger.

“I noticed. You been out on the water long?” Ben asked, brushing back some loose bits of hair that had begun to unwind from your clip.

“Only a couple of years, I’m new to the swamps though. All this shallow water is a bit nervewracking to me.” You laughed, remembering all the roots and sand banks you had accidentally knocked against when you first made your way through the rivers.

“Where did you set sail to before coming to our neck of the woods?” Ben didn’t want to overwhelm you by asking too many questions, but he couldn’t help it. He was so damn curious about where an angel like you had come from.

“Mostly around Key West. The hurricanes sort of got to be too big of a problem, and I decided to explore, so here I am.” You sighed happily, snuggling your cheek further onto Ben, and you could feel his smile in your hair.

“I’m happy you found us.” He said, his voice just barely above a whisper.

“Me too.” You pulled back only a little, just enough to look into those deep eyes of his, when you realized you were just about level with his lips. Damn they looked plush, and they had been so soft when you kissed them the first time, you couldn’t help but lick your own lips. “Well, it looks like you did a damn good job, and quickly too. You held up your end of the deal, now I think it’s about time I do mine.”

Ben’s heart jumped into his throat, he couldn’t believe he was actually going to get to kiss you again! A part of him had been nagging, saying that you hadn’t really meant it, that it was only out of guilt, but now he was sure that you wanted to. They way you were practically undressing him with your eyes was making him hot, and he swallowed down any nerves, reaching up to brush a thumb against your lower lip.

“Remind me.” Ben said with a certain level of authority that had you in his lap faster than you knew how to process.

“It’s before dinnertime, you deserve another kiss.” You said, already leaning down to speak against his mouth.

Ben was not going to let you get away with a little peck like you had given him earlier, no – now he had seen the desire in your eyes and how it matched his own. He kissed you hungrily, tongue sliding easily in between your lips as you gasped with pleasure, one hand wrapping around your waist and the other releasing the clip from your hair, instead tangling his fingers through the soft strands.

You underestimated his strength, and he more or less carried you back onto the boat, not letting go of you until he had you safely placed in the center of your twin bed. You tugged at his shirt, effectively filthy and stained with oil and grease – something you were surprised to find that you weren’t turned off by – and he got the hint. You almost whined when his muscular body was revealed to you, almost as soon as the fabric was off, you latched your mouth to his chest, hands exploring the new expanse of skin.

Ben needed to get you out of your clothes too, thankfully they weren’t nearly as complicated as the jeans you had worn earlier in the day. As much as he could appreciate the skirt and the sweater combination, he was even more eager to see what was held beneath those layers. You couldn’t help but laugh at Ben’s shocked face when he discovered there was nothing beneath those layers, how wide his eyes had gotten when he slipped his hand under your sweater and was simply met with warm skin – no bra. He urgently pulled it over your head, and you laughed again.

“Thought you might like that.” You said, arching your back as Ben leaned down and trailed wet sloppy kisses down your cleavage.

“Shit baby, you’re going to be the end of me.” Ben said, never taking his lips off of your skin.

He moaned when he let a hand slide up your thigh underneath your skirt, finding no underwear either. You had been sitting practically bare-assed on his work table, how the fuck was he supposed to think of anything other than that for as long as he lived? An image of you sprawled out on that table as he fucked you flashed into his mind, and he quickly shoved it away. He wanted to take advantage of every moment he had with you in the present, and would worry about the future later.

“Do you have something?” You asked, annoyed with yourself that you didn’t carry this sort of protection aboard the boat. You could fend off venomous snakes and huge predators, but a blindingly handsome man had not been something you were prepared to meet out here in the swamps.

Instead of answering, Ben fumbled in his back pocket for his wallet, and pulled out a fresh condom that he had put in there only the night before. He knew keeping them in wallets wasn’t the best way to keep them in great working order, so he changed them out every now and again in case such an occasion ever arrived. Holy shit though, he hadn’t needed to use one in such a long time!

“I want this off.” You said, tugging on one of the belt loops of his jeans.

All his kissing and his blatant desire had made you start to squirm, and you had to press your thighs together to keep from getting too overwhelmed too quickly. Ben nodded rapidly, and shuffled back off the bed to unzip his jeans. The cheeky shit made a show of it, slowly letting his jeans fall and kicking them aside, pulling his cock out of his boxers and giving it a few strokes.

You couldn’t take your eyes off of it, he was  _large,_ which really you should have seen coming. You lifted your hips and shimmied out of your skirt, before trying to position yourself in the most appealing way to him. Lucky for you, he seemed to by hypnotized by your movements, and when you crooked your finger beckoning him back onto the bed, he nearly scrambled to get on top of you.

“I’m gonna fuck you so good,” Ben said, leaning down to give you a desperate kiss. “(Y/N) I’m gonna make you scream my name.”

“Yes!” You pulled him down to you, his skin burning against yours, but your hold on him went slack the moment his clever fingers made their way between your legs.

“Fuck.” Ben cursed under his breath when he felt how wet you were for him, already aching and pressing into his hand. He slipped two fingers in easily, his thumb rubbing little circles on your clit as he took one of your nipples into his mouth.

You couldn’t stop the moans, nor did you want to. Ben was sliding his fingers in and out of you, and you wanted nothing more than to keep him there forever, but his mouth worked down your front, peppering kisses down across your stomach, until he was licking at the insides of your thighs.

One of your hands twisted in the navy sheets, and the other fisted in Ben’s hair, surprisingly clean and soft. He wasted no time pulling his fingers out, replacing them with his tongue and his nose instead, eagerly eating you out like you were the last meal of a dying man. He had to hold your thighs apart as he nestled himself deeper into you, all you wanted to do was cage his head there and keep him forever. You might have been embarrassed if it didn’t feel so fucking good.

“You gonna come for me? Like this, right on my tongue?” Ben asked, sounding like he was daring you to do it, but you had other plans.

“Not this time,” You panted, and Ben nearly came from the idea of a next time, “I want you to get back up here and fuck me with this cock of yours.” You ordered, and Ben was only all too happy to obey.

He gave one more hot suck to your thigh before lovingly giving it a gentle slap, signaling you to scooch down so he wouldn’t smack his head on the low boat ceiling. With shaking hands he tore open the condom and rolled it on, and you couldn’t think of anything other than,  _yes, Ben, please,_ when he slid right into you.

Ben had to pause for a moment just so he wouldn’t blow his load right then and there, but quickly got himself to a place where he could thrust into you with a steady rhythm that had the both of you moaning into each other’s mouths.

“Holy shit you feel so good.” You said, throwing your head back onto the pillows, your hand coming to dig into the muscles in Ben’s back. He was so strong, the boat was probably rocking with the force of his hips, and you just called out his name – it was the only thing you had the sense of mind to do.

“Fuck, you can’t ever leave.” Ben said back, possibly drunk on your smell and the way you were clenching around him. “You’re so fucking tight.” He groaned, as you licked some of the sweat that had started to bead on his neck.

“Damnit, I’m close.” You breathed, your teeth chattering together with how tightly wound you were getting. Ben was moving at just the right angle that you could feel your orgasm start to boil to the surface, and your chest heaved with pleasure.

“Come on baby, that’s it, come for me – come for me (Y/N).” Ben said, and you couldn’t hold back anymore, not with him hitting your g-spot over and over again the way he was.

You both came at the same time funny enough, the two of you collapsing into one another, boneless and with limbs made of jelly. Between your moans, and Ben’s shout, you could only picture all the birds flying away from the trees with how loud you both were.

“That was amazing.” Ben mumbled, sounding completely blissed out.

You grinned, over the moon yourself, and nudged his shoulder. He slid out of you carefully, and tied off the condom, sitting up enough to drop it into the small waste basket near your bed. You tugged him back down right away, still wanting to be close to him.

“You know how to treat a lady right.” You said with a grin, letting a few nervous giggles out. How could Ben be out here all by himself, especially with the way he fucked?

“Nah, not just a lady –  _you_.” Ben said, kissing your nose and making you blush bright red.

“Do you have any plans? For dinner, I mean?” You asked, when Ben’s stomach growled loudly, making the two of you snicker.

“Nope, I usually just make myself something to eat from the market before heading to bed.” Ben shrugged, already knowing where this was going, and eager to say yes.

“I fancy myself a decent chef. If you’d be interested, I could cook you up a hot meal – you know, to thank you for all your work.” You said, as if the two of you weren’t naked, tangled in the sheets of your bed.

“As long as it’s not gator tail, I’ll eat about anything.” Ben said in that mock seriousness once again that you found so silly and charming.

“Shit, there go my plans.” You replied, and the two of you laughed in bed, riding out your orgasmic high until your stomach’s growls joined Ben’s.

 

“Dinner is served!” You finally called, nearly an hour later. The boat had a tiny kitchenette out on the deck, tucked away under the shade of an awning, and you had dutifully prepared a delicious seafood gumbo that you hoped would wow Ben.

He had tugged on his boxers, and you had thrown on an oversized t-shirt that you liked to sleep in, and the two of you left the comfort of bed to go enjoy the setting sun and cook. Now that the sun was down though, the insects had come out, so making sure the stove was off, you ladled two heaping bowls worth of the gumbo and instructed Ben to stick the pot that held the rest of the meal inside the cabin of the boat.

Once all food was securely put away and you were certain you wouldn’t attract any sort of people-eating predators, you brought the two bowls over to the couch, and yelped in surprise when Ben pulled you down to sit on his lap, taking the spoon from you.

“You worked hard cookin’, here, let me.” Ben said, holding the spoon to your lips.

“Careful, it’s hot!” You said, afraid he would spill some on his bare chest, but he only laughed.

“So are you.” He winked, and you rolled your eyes good-naturedly before taking the offered spoon between your teeth.

“You’re so damn smooth, you know that?” You laughed when he pulled the spoon away, smacking at his hands and reclaiming your bowl. You were a grown woman, you could feed yourself, even if the notion of Ben wanting to take care of you was very sweet.

“Glad you think so.” Ben said, like the most cocky boy in the whole world. And just as you had warned, he didn’t even blow on the gumbo to make it less hot before shoving it into his mouth and exclaiming, “Ow! Shit!”

“I told you so!” You said, but Ben didn’t stop being theatrical. He put his bowl down and took yours away too, setting them both on the little table that the tv rested on.

“I burned my mouth!” He said, pouting his lips. You were concerned for a moment, after all, you hadn’t meant to injure the poor guy!

“Where? I don’t see anything?” You asked, trying to find some sign of redness.

“You gotta look a little closer, I swear I burned it.” Ben insisted, and you got what he was playing at when his tone dropped from being in pain to being sneaky.

“Hmm, I don’t see anything, does it hurt here?” You asked, running your finger over his chin, avoiding his lips even though he practically was begging you to kiss him again.

“No, closer.” Ben licked his lips, and you flicked your eyes between his own, and those lips.

“Here?” You whispered, kissing the corner of his mouth, feeling the little twitch of a smile the action caused.

“Closer.” Ben whispered back, his eyes slipping closed, fully leaning into your touch.

“Ah, now I see it.” You said, grinning against his lips.

The gumbo cooled while the two of you devoured one another on the couch.

 

“Are you planning on staying here a while?” Ben asked you much later, when the bullfrogs had all finished their songs, and the only sound in the whole swamp was of your heartbeats and soft breathing.

You had relocated to the bed, laying down facing one another, your limbs all wrapped up in each other’s embrace.

“In bed?” You asked, fully prepared to give a snarky comment about it being nighttime, but it was as if Ben could predict that and he playfully pinched the tip of your nose with his fingers.

“Yeah.” He said sarcastically, eyes softening in the candlelight, “In the swamps.” He clarified.

“I wasn’t at first, but then I met you.” You shrugged, giving him what was undoubtedly a cheesy smile. You couldn’t help it though, you were so happy to have stumbled across this little garage, and this handsome man who knew his shit about boats, who was silly and deadpan, and shy and cocky all at the same time.

“Stay with me. Here. Just for a little while, then we’ll go and travel wherever you’d like.” Ben didn’t really ask, but you had no desire to say no to him, instead snuggling closer under the blankets, tucking your face under his chin. He instinctively wrapped his arms around you, and you let out a happy hum.

“That sounds like a dream, my handy man.” You agreed, thinking to yourself that no matter where they were, it would certainly be some sort of adventure.

 


End file.
